Although there’s a ton of water activities available at Airlie Beach, the crappy rainy weather limited my options. After travelling on the overnight bus, I arrived unrested at 7am. It was semi-cloudy, but after examining the rainy forecast for the next several days, I quickly booked a tour for that day.
There were complications with the first tour group – they didn’t actually get my reservation and left without me – but I was able to quickly jump onto other adventure drafting tour. With some wild waves, the raft jumped around like crazy, which completely soaked us and added to the thrill!
After some snorkeling, we made our way to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island. This beach is famous for the bright white sand that consists of 98% pure silica. Apparently several world renowned cosmetics companies have tried to purchase sand for their beauty products, and was promptly denied.
Tides constant change the landscape, so the area never looks the same twice. It was lovely to dig my fingers and toes into the almost rubbery sand, and breath the fresh sea air.
The following days had craptastic weather, keeping me from further tours and adventures. Fortunately I met a cool gal from Toronto named Jane. Jane spent many months in New Zealand and was now looking for work in the area for the next 3 months. Tough life! I haven’t met many east coast Canadians in Australia, and we befriended each other pretty quickly.
During one of our walks along a country road, a white van stopped and warned us that a crazy person was accosting travelers. He said the police were on the lookout and that it’s not safe to walk on the road. He then made room in the front seat of the van and offered us a lift. Jane and I looked at each other and both instantly believed we just met that crazy person. After declining politely, we hastily made our way back to town, occasionally looking over our shoulder.
The remaining days were very chilled; we cooked healthy food in the hostel, drank a few bottles of white wine, played cards, had afternoon coffee at the harbour and witnessed some spectacular sunsets. I’ve been neglecting my magic card tricks, so I attempted to perform a few; she was an easy audience on my amateur performance.
It felt comforting to be in good company and to slow down the pace, making the most of the short winter days. A winter in Australia wearing t-shirts and shorts; what a tough life!
